Flaming Lips: At War With The Mystics

I started listening to this album about a month ago but I thought I would wait to post a comment. I wanted to be clear headed when I piped in on this mega-release. Ya know, ya get over exicted about an album the first few listens but that sometimes fades (all that production voodoo f--n' with your aural recepters and newness of the moment shit). I didn't want to regret anything I said about this little CD and now I can truly say these are my sober thoughts on the music that is At War With the Mystics.

I haven't been an "official" fan of the Flaming lips since the 90's so this comes as much as a shock to me as it does to my dear friends: At War With The Mystics is a Masterpiece (a shallow one but a masterpiece none the less). This album cannot be ignored. All the elements I like are in place on this album - the fuzz guitar, unconventional song structure, analog tape effects, fragile Neil Young inspired vocals, great keyboard sounds, bizzare non sequitur lyrics - it's got it all.


Note of local interest: Pink Mountaintops are opening two CD release parties for the lips in New York. This may have already happened.

Brandon, Man

Man, little shit-splat towns like Brandon Rock. I went to the local Blockbuster Video to check out their previously viewed section hoping to find a few good deals.

I didn't realize I'd hit the motherload.

Va Savior - 2.99, YES, 2.99. I haven't seen it but it's suppose to be a Jacques Rivette classic.
Last Life in the Universe - 7.99 One of my recent favs
Goodbye Dragon Inn - 7.99 The incomparable Tsai Ming Liang
Incident at Loch Ness - 6.99 Werner Herzog + Faux Doc. I'm there.

Yes, readers, these are in Canadian funds and yes these smalltown folks know nothing about Cinema. I guess that's why they were sentenced here.

Actually, Brandon isn't as small as I thought it would be. It kinda reminds me of Lethbridge, Alberta. Still we drove around the entire town in about 15 minutes. We ate some food at a chain restaurant that played some amazingly bland neo-cuntry. The winter fair starts tomorrow so all hell will probably break loose. We will film some, have a meeting and come back a couple of seasoned fimmakers. This trip has been stressful but in a good way.

More as it happens

Winnipeg

My first time in this not-so-lovely city. I am involved in the filming of a documentary as we all know.

Heart of Darkness was an interesting movie. I'll let you think about that for a while.

I am tired and I will post more tomorrow.

On The Road

I am about to embark on my first Roadtrip as a filmmaker. Not that I am going anywhere exciting but it's just cool to be finally doing something creative and getting paid for it. I'm off to Calgary, Winnipeg, Brandon and finally Edmonton. My partner (David) and I are going to be interviewing several trainers for our Documentary on Herb Williams and the Superdogs. We'll also be attending the Brandon winter fair where we will see an actual Dog and Pony show. Yeah, I know, they really do exist. I'll be reporting from the road and maybe posting pictures. I'll be back here in Vancouver on the 30th.

10th Anniversary: The Hive

As you may (or may not) know, I was a founding member of Vancouver's best indie-pop studio: The Hive. Started in 1996, this studio has grown up n' out of it's humble beginnings in East Van and into the realm of legitimate business. It now resides in a 3000 square foot complex in the burbs, where on any given day, sleezeball rock stars can be seen gettin' their groove on.

Over the next several posts I will list the top ten albums that The Hive has produced. Even a couple of years ago this would only have been of local interest but hard work and not-taking-no-for-an-answer has made this shit the stuff of legends (or at least worthy of international blogdom).

Mr. Beast: the B.C. connection

Local artist manages to snare Mogwai cover. I just read about Amanda Church in the Georgia Straight last week. Glad to see she is doing well and that those crazy bastards from Scotland are taking notice to the wealth of talent in our amazing Province.

Imaginary Soundtracks

If I were to drop a "Feature-Length Narrative" into this world, right now, this would be the soundtrack-

Smog - Ex-Con
Boards of Canada - '84 Pontiac Dream
Low -Dinosaur Act
Sufjan Stevens- Pickerall Lake
Aphex Twin - Stone in Focus
Red House Painters- Song For A Blue Guitar
Pavement - Father To A Sister of Thought
Yo La Tengo - Our Way To Fall
Cat Power - The Greatest
Neil Young - Only Love Can Break Your Heart
Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands
µ-Ziq - Phiesope

Tarnation

I hate Jonathan Caouette

Reason 1:
He made the personal documentary I’ve always wanted to (albeit with a very different subject matter and aesthetic sense than I would have chosen).

Reason 2:
He stole my soundtrack. Anyone who knows anything about me knows how much music rules my day-to-day life. I have very discerning tastes and when I watch a movie I'm usually pulled out of the drama by the filmmaker’s crap music. That's not the case with Tarnation. Bands he chose include: Mark Kozelek (of The Red House Painters), Low, Iron and Wine, and Magnetic Fields. These same artists have had heavy rotatation on my iTunes for the last couple of years. Even songs I wasn’t familiar with: Cocteau twins, Lisa Germano and Marianne Faithful were expertly selected for this very stylized doc.

Reason 3:
One of my favourite filmmakers, Gus Van Sant was an executive producer. This is the dream of all young filmmakers: to have your first movie recognized by one of the greatest working directors of our time.

Reason 4:
He is so articulate and so friggin’ well spoken in the DVD commentary. This F—er is to-the-point and just goddamn succinct when it comes to explaining the themes and the overall construction of the film

Reason 5:
He put this film together using iMovie from Mac. Yes, the free software that comes with every Mac. I haven’t even opened that program on my Mac, cause I thought it was a mickey-mouse piece o’ junk. I might use it for my next short form project. Simplicity is sometimes best; that’s what Jonathon’s lesson is.

I Love Jonathan Caouette

Darkon

Darkon, beeotch, Darkon.

go here and watch it

Get me some of that, stat.

C.R.A.Z.Y. for you

Wanted to say a bit about this amazing movie. Not that the Genies (Canada’s Oscars) are anything to get excited about but this little French Canadian movie swept those little f—er’s. Director Jean-Marc Vallée is a new hero to all of us aspiring Canadian filmmakers. This ambitious 70’s rock infused tale of a father and his complicated relationship with his wife and sons takes us on a 20-year trip of visual magnificence that we can’t easily forget. This is the great family epic that Scorsese never made. All the actors in this ensemble piece are going to have great careers ahead of them. I especially liked the son Zac, ( Marc-André Grondin) He's kinda like a French Gael García Bernal, only with better hair. I should warn you that there is some CGI used in C.R.A.Z.Y but it is tasteful and doesn't get in the way of the storytelling. I hope this gets it to a broader audience because it really deserves to be seen. Recently, I have been making an effort to see more locally made flicks and this is by far the best Canadian movie I have seen in years.

Maureen Stapleton: 1925-2006

Maureen Stapleton who played Pearl, the great flush of colour in the beautifully depressing Interiors, is dead. I haven’t seen her in Reds but she was absolutely a highlight in my favorite Woody Allen drama (not a small feat considering the cast). Funny, how I just watched it a couple of weeks ago. The same thing happened with the Red Shoes last month. I watched it and the next week Moira Shearer died. I’m almost afraid to re-watch Saraband for fear of Liv Ullmann’s premature departure.

Overheard at the Hotel

Int. Bathroom - Day

An elderly woman with a cane stands above a middle-aged maintenance man. He’s installing a handle on the side of a tub so she can get in and out of the bath with greater ease.
Elderly Woman: You make sure you put that on tight.
Maintenance Man: Yeah, yeah.
Elderly Woman: Don’t you yeah, yeah me. I’ve already broken my leg twice. The doctor says if I break it again he’ll have to cut it off.
Maintenance Man: You’re lucky you’re not a horse. They would have shot you the first time.

Unfolding in Real Time: Hou Hsiao-Hsien

I have been an admirer of the Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien for about two years now. From the first time I experienced the slow motion magnificence during the opening sequence in Millennium Mambo (terrible title, I know) I knew I was in capable hands. Since then I have seen 4 more of his films: Flowers of Shanghai, Café Lumiere, Goodbye South, Goodbye and Three Times. People say he owes a lot to Yasujiro Ozu. I would venture to say this comparison is more about content than style as Ozu was not a proponent of the long take but where they do converge is the sublime moods they both create. Café Lumiere is actually a tribute to Ozu for the 100th anniversary of his birth. Of course many have noted the similarities to Robert Altman as both employ the same static camera and overlapping dialogue techniques. Jim Jarmusch considers himself a student of this great Asian master and stated recently that Three Times is one of his favorite cinematic experiences. Back in 1988 the New York Critics Society named him Filmmaker to watch or “God-Like” Filmmaker (or some such). At that time he’d already made like 6 films. I admit I am a little late getting into him but his movies are so timeless in their appeal and so far away from the Hollywood model that you won’t feel like you missed out seeing them when they first came out. In my opinion he is now making movies that are as good as, if not better than, the glory days of the 80’s.

If you haven’t seen this guy’s films you should really get out there and rent them. They aren’t accessible in the most conventional sense but this is only because society as a whole has had its’ attention span significantly shortened in the last 30 years. I would say the best place to start is where I started: Millennium Mambo. This is set in Taipei about 6 years ago. It follows the life of a couple of slackers in their early 20’s and what they would go through on a day-to-day basis. (you know…the fights…the drugs…the nightclubs). On paper it sounds pretty trite and yeah we’ve all seen it before but the way he uses the environment and off camera space is truly refreshing. You really get a sense that these events are unfolding in real time. The now requisite reaction shot is nowhere to be found in any of his pictures (the ones I’ve seen anyway, he may have used one or two in early films). So if you like movies that thrive on tone and mood and you like the colour palate of a movie as apposed to spit fire dialogue and plot twist then you should see Hou’s movies. You might not even think you enjoy movies that are done in this fashion until you actually see one.

The Vancity Theatre is going to be playing Three Times from March 17 to the 23rd. This is a must-see on the big screen and the Vancity theatre is the newest and arguably best in town.

Liam Lynch Podcast

Ever since I saw Sifl and Olly I've been a big fan. This is what podcasting is all about.

go to this link

http://liamlynch.net

or check out Podcasts on itunes and punch in Liam Lynch in the search.